Anthony Gale of Durham needed some snacks Friday night while binge-watching “Stranger Things” so he hit pause, picked up a Cash 5 ticket along with his food, and won Saturday’s $160,543 jackpot.

Gale’s good luck started Friday night as he tidied up his house while binge-watching the final episodes of Season 4. He needed some snacks to munch on and drove over to Beaver Pond Family Fare on Roxboro Road in Durham where he also picked up a $1 Quick Pick ticket on the side for Saturday’s drawing.

On Sunday, Gale checked his numbers on the lottery website to find out if he’d won anything. What he discovered made him keep refreshing the page.

“I kept checking it to make sure I was reading it right and not imagining it,” he said. “It feels good! The win came at a very good time.”

Gale, a graphic artist, arrived at lottery headquarters Wednesday to collect his prize and, after federal and state tax withholdings, took home $114,002.

He says he’ll “breathe easier” knowing he can use his prize to pay off some medical bills.

Cash 5 is one of four lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through a retail location or Online Play, either through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Cash 5 tickets are $1 and drawings are held every night. Thursday’s jackpot is $177,000.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how $13.9 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Durham County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.